The present invention relates to exercise apparatuses and, more particularly, to a lightweight portable ballet barre which may be disassembled and stored within its own cylinder, for use by ballet dancers, athletes and others who desire a portable, easily carried exercise barre.
Traditionally, ballet dancers warm up prior to performances and during class by exercising at a ballet barre. Generally, in dance studios, ballet barres are made from smooth wooden poles which are permanently mounted to the studio wall. Alternatively, free standing barres mounted on heavy metal uprights are used. Both wall mounted and free standing barres provide support to allow a dancer to warm up slowly, thus lessening the danger of muscle strain and sprain, pulled tendons, torn ligaments and other bodily injuries that threaten athletes and dancers. Athletes also require a proper warm-up prior to engaging in their athletic activities.
During exercises at the barre, it is important to maintain a proper posture. Therefore, the height of the barre must be such that when the user's hand rests on the barre, the hand is at approximately hip level without the shoulder being raised or the back being slouched. Thus, for example, many ballet studios use dual wall-mounted barres to accommodate adults and/or children.
Unfortunately, even the use of dual mounted studio barres is not adequate to provide many children, women and most men with a barre at an ideal height. Thus, a need exists for a barre which may be easily mounted on existing studio barres to accommodate shorter and taller than average dancers. Such a barre would allow not only individuals, but ballet studios, gymnasiums, sports facilities and the like to adequately provide support for people of non-average height without the added expense of permanently mounting additional barres.
A need also exists for a barre which is adaptable to non-studio environments. For example, when professional dancers tour, they often perform in theaters without permanent wall-mounted barres or without adequate free-standing barres to accommodate all of the dancers. Therefore, professional dancers must often warm up prior to a performance by using pipes, chairs, and any other object which will provide support during warm up exercises.
Unfortunately, objects such as a chair rarely provide the strength necessary to adequately support a dancer during strenuous warm up exercises. Indeed, male dancers exert such pressure on their warm up supports that any object which is not securely fixed will not support their weight. Thus, even free standing barres often will move under the weight of a male dancer. Therefore, a need exists for a barre which may be mounted on a wide variety of fixed objects. Such a barre would allow professional dancers to clamp the barre on fixed objects in theaters for warm up purposes. Additionally, such a barre should be portable and compact to allow dancers to easily transport the barre between theaters anywhere in the world.
Exercise barres such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,116,434 and 4,185,816, issued to Bernstein, disclose a sit-up exercise apparatus incorporating a bar and clamp device for mounting underneath a door. The bars are located adjacent to the floor, for use while seated on the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 938,045, issued to Fay, discloses a portable barre which may be mounted on a doorknob. Although the Fay barre is attached at a height which is more appropriate for ballet dancers, it is not readily adjustable to accommodate tall or short dancers. Nor, is it capable of being mounted on any other fixed object other than a doorknob.